At Louie's Pizza in Frankfort, the slices are huge, and that's a fact

A slice of the Margarita pizza at Louie's Pizza in Frankfort.

By Bob Bong

Southland Savvy

Louie’s Pizza at 20531 S. LaGrange Road in Frankfort is home to what owner Craig Stackley calls “the giant slice,” and he’s not kidding.

Slices at Louie’s are served from a 28-inch pizza, which is the biggest I’ve ever seen at a Southland pizzeria. That’s 10 inches wider than the largest pizzas at popular local pizzeria chains such as Aurelio’s and Beggars.

“Our slogan is, ‘Wow, that’s huge’,” says Stackley, who opened Louie’s on Aug. 2 in the Vineyards Plaza in Frankfort.

Stackley has some experience in the pizza business, but before opening Louie’s he was with a building management company.

In addition to the monster slices, Louie’s has the kind of food you find at most pizzerias. There are appetizers, sandwiches, salads, homemade focaccia and pasta dinners. Louie’s also has fish and chicken dinners.

“When the weather turns colder, we’ll add soups ,” says Stackley.

One kind of pizza that sets Louie’s apart is the Margarita, which is made without tomato sauce. Here's a history lesson, the pizza was created in 1889 in honor of the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy. Its toppings are fresh sliced tomatoes, fresh sliced mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. It represents the colors of the Italian flag, red, white and green.

“It’s different,” says Stackley. “But it tastes great.”

Business has been slowly picking up and Stackley anticipates it will grow even faster now that school is back in session. Lincoln-Way East High School is across the street from Louie’s.

All pizzas are available in traditional sizes (14-inch, 16-inch and 18-inch) and you can even order one of the 28-inch big boys except stuffed.

There are no tables inside but there is limited seating in front of the restaurant. Delivery is available after 4 p.m.

Hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 3 to 9 p.m. The phone number is 815-469-2700. There’s no website yet, but Stackley is working on it.

“In my spare time,” he said jokingly.

Craig Stackley opened Louie's Pizza in Frankfort earlier this month.

Two-for-one tickets for red-hot Thunderbolts

While the White Sox are desperately trying to stay in the playoff chase and the Cubs have long abandoned any such hopes, the Southland's very own Windy City Thunderbolts are in good position to clinch their fourth consecutive playoff berth. The Thunderbolts have won 18 in a row at home and are in first place in the Frontier League East Division.

The Thunderbolts have six regular-season home games left at  Standard Bank Stadium (14011 S. Kenton Ave., Crestwood). Tomorrow and Wednesday night, when the Thunderbolts host division rival Oakland County, all tickets are Buy-One, Get-One-Free. If that's not enough, the first 250 fans will receive a free T-shirt on Tuesday and a free hat on Wednesday. And don't even get me started on "Thirsty Thursday" ... $1 domestic draft beer!

For more information, go to the team's website here.

Papa Damiani Pizza moves to northwest Indiana

Lou Damiani shows off the sign from the original location.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Papa Damiani Pizza, a fixture in Dolton from 1957 until its closing in April, reopened a few weeks ago inside the North Woods restaurant at 8101 Wicker Ave. in St. John, Ind. For more information, visit http://www.northwoodsdining.com/ or check out their page on Facebook.

Bench Warmers closes in Lansing
Bench Warmers Sports Pub closed suddenly over the weekend at its longtime home at 3325 Ridge Road in Lansing. The location had been operated by a member of the same family since it opened as the Lansing Tap and Ridge Room in 1947.

Lansing Tap was renamed Bench Warmers in 1984 when Bill and Cheryl Last took over operations from his father. Cheryl’s son Tim Geeve took over the establishment a few years ago.

Bench Warmers reopened a few years ago after a fire almost destroyed the business.

Chinese restaurant changes name
Tan Chinese Kitchen at 312 N. LaGrange Road in Frankfort has reopened as Ocean Chinese restaurant. The phone number is 815-464-8896.

Grand opening celebration at Orland Wine
Orland Park Wine and Spirits is celebrating its grand opening this weekend at 8600 W. 159th St. in Orland Park with wine tastings, seminars and visits from Chicago sports legends. New owners took over the store back in February.

Former Chicago Bear Dan Hampton will be on hand from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday while former Blackhawks goalie Tony Esposito will be there from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, I’d call 708-460-4300. There is a website at http://www.orlandparkwineandspirits.com/ but it hasn’t been updated since July.